Wutbürger

Wutbürger

The video installation ”Wutbürger“ deals with the personal anger and individual failure of a German man. The protagonist Stefan W. (an „Everyman“) lives through different stages of his life in retrospective, which finally casts him to a hostile present, that becomes a prison with no way back. In a custom-built wooden box, a five-hour performance was first recorded and is now exhibited in exactly this box (rear projection) again. During a guerilla intervention tour ("Isolation episode") through Germany, the box was placed in front of typical locations carrying a collective “Wutbürger potential” (nuclear power plants, capitalism, NSA scandal) but also containing elements of personal anger like hedonism, boring suburbs, neglect. The box acts as a demonstration and protesting surrogate for everybody.

In Germany, „Wutbürger“ are people who share a common feeling of disappointment about politics and who manifests anger through public demonstrations. The anger of these people is directed to a collective target.
But what about the singular „Wutbürger“?
The individual anger and disappointment of an individual? The individual anger and disappointment of any of us? What if one ́s life is ruled by the feelings of frustration and powerlessness?
What happens when a single man suddenly directs all this anger at himself?